Seattle – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will award Environmental Justice Small Grants to the Sitka Tribe in Alaska, Three Degrees Warmer in Anchorage, Alaska, and Trash for Peace in Portland, Oregon. EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants program provides funding for non-profit and tribal organizations to partner with stakeholders in industry, government, and academia.

Environmental Justice Small Grants were awarded to:

The Sitka Tribe in Alaska, for the project “Microplastics in Tribal Subsistence Foods in Southeast Alaska.” Project partners include University of Alaska, Mount Edgecumbe High School, Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition, and the Sitka Conservation Society. The Sitka tribe and local students will collect water and subsistence food samples within the tribe’s traditional territory to test for the presence of microplastics. The tribe will share the results to help the public make informed decisions about harvesting traditional foods. 

Three Degrees Warmer, based in Seattle and Anchorage, for the project “Kivalina Biochar Reactor Operator Training Program.”  Project partners include the City of Kivalina, Native Village of Kivalina, Re-Locate Kivalina, and Biomass Controls, LLC. Kivalina, an Alaska Native village of approximately 475 residents, is working to improve its water and sanitation infrastructure.  In 2015, the Kivalina City and Tribal Councils worked with community partners to develop a prototype biochar reactor that converts human waste into pathogen-free biochar, a carbon-rich substrate. 

Trash for Peace in Portland, Oregon, for the project “Trash for Peace Sustainability Education Program.” Project partners include Home Forward, People-Places-Things, Confluence Environmental Center, Leaven Community, and the City of Gresham. The project will foster environmental sustainability and stewardship through solid waste disposal education for youth at various affordable housing properties in Portland. The properties are in areas of Portland that have high rates of poverty and lack options for proper trash disposal and recycling.

EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks, and funds projects up to $30,000 a year.

For 2017 Environmental Justice Small Grant recipients and project descriptions: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-small-grants-program-project-descriptions-2017

For more information on the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, including descriptions of previously funded grants: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-small-grants-program
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